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I saw this a while back on the Sony Ericsson developer site but didn’t post about it then. Seeing the Opera Mini Panel at XDA today reminded me of these tools again today and brought the realization that not many know about these tools nor use them… for honestly, it seems these tools are the key to getting more panels on our Xperia handsets! (For X1 of course you will have to have the X2 stuff installed including the Myriad Java Machine and the X2 Panel Manager.)

What are the Panelizer tools? Making it extremely easy to produce panels, the Panelizer features enables users to take an existing application and turn it in to a Panel. Simply supply the required inputs and click the Create Package button. It is as simple as that…! :)

Now what could we possibly see as panels? Perhaps a touch-friendly skinned Nitrogen player panel, iFonz panel, Androkkid panel, WAD2 panel! and much more!!! Can you feel the excitement?

SlowlyDead at XDA forums used the new Panelizers by Sony Ericsson to create a Opera Mini panel and it works PERFECT! Panels created using the panelizer are targetted for X2 and will only work on your X1 if you have the X2 stuff installed on it. Unfortunately, the panel is non-English… :)

SPB Time is an advanced, skinnable (and when they say skinnable… note that there are TONS of skins available for download easily via the application itself) time toolbox for Windows Mobile phone. Providing analog and digital clock modes, world clock, timers and stopwatches, and advanced alarms. Version 3.0 of SPB Time, released on Nov 24, 2009, comes as a panel for Xperia.

Though I’ve been mainly using Klaxxon as my alarm utility on the X1 in the past, SPB Time’s Paranoid or Bio mode might just be what i need…! To download a trial version or to get more information head on here.

It is time to get excited about the X2, and not because SE is releasing a new Xperia handset, but due to the fact that our trusted friends at XDA are hard at work at getting us all the goodies from the X2 ready for our X1s. Keep a lookout on this thread here.

And if you can’t wait, test out this test ROM ready for the X1. I flashed it earlier and really like it! Has WinMo 6.5 (official version of course), the new Panel Manager (which is super dooper fast!) and a couple of additional goodies… What’s missing is the X2 dialer and SlideView application – the one we see demoed on the X2 once you click on, say, email from the Tilewave panel. But since this is just the second custom ROM since the extracted stuff hit the surface, i’m sure we’ll see a more perfect ROM appear on XDA soon enough.

PointUI released an update on November 17th and have introduced a few new settings, improved the functionality, and fixed various bugs. To think they actually listen to the feedback! Included in this new build is the missing scroll capabilities when using the T9 capabilities for the keypad to search for a contact by name, as well as the ability to use the hardware buttons to answer/reject calls – which was a bit annoying. For a full change log, head on here.

PocketNow.com has been one of my favorite sites of all time since i found my way to Windows Mobile. From thorough reviews to updates on releases to various tips and tricks… all wrapped into one nice package. And today, the best just got better! They just completely revamped their site design and have brought it to something more appealing, still easier to browse, and more informative. Check it out now at www.pocketnow.com.

Update: Xperiancers; interested to take part in an exciting competition? PocketNow is giving away an Acer neoTouch which runs on a snapdragon processor. For more details, head on here.

You can’t use numbers such as *161*01010101010101010# – something that we have here to recharge balance - or *100# - to check balance. Normally, when you hit the talk button you get the result to the command, but in case of using PointUI Phone, the interface forces itself on top not allowing you to actually see the result.

Keypad supposedly has intelligent T9 capabilities, but surprise! surprise! Apparently, when you are searching for someone, you only get a list of two people. There is no scrolling of contacts from the dial-pad screen! For instance, i have more than 3 people in my contacts with Shahid in their name. When searching for a specific one, i realized i couldn’t use the *intelligent* T9 capabilities ‘coz it only listed two numbers for me to select from rather than all matches.

No alphabet slider in the contacts list to quickly jump to a specific name.

When you launch PointUI Phone, it takes over the system’s default keypad. In my case the HTC Keypad. However if i close out PointUI Phone, the original keypad doesn’t function properly anymore. In my case, for some reason, it reverts to the default X1 keypad rather than the HTC Keypad and not just that but T9 searching doesn’t work on the X1 Keypad as well as other minor issues. A soft-reset of the device brings back the HTC Keypad and everything functions normally.

Bottom line is; though it is a nice and refreshing dialpad, it most definitely is not in a state to be set as the default dialer in its current release. Hopefully we will see some major improvements in the near future. So, if you want to test this out, please proceed with caution! (The opinion expressed in this post is mine, and only mine, based on my experience with the software)

Ever felt inclined to try out something similar to Omnia’s Widget Interface? There have been various implementations in the past that i’ve tried out including an older version of FEWidgets and they all failed to impress due to their poor performance and memory consumption. But then today i came across i bookmark while organizing my favorites (and they are really messy!) to the FEWidgets thread and i found out about the latest version – which was released somewhere back in August, so not that new.

I downloaded this version half-heartedly and installed it pretty much expecting to be uninstalling it in the next few minutes again. After it installed i disabled HTC Sense and enabled FEWidgets from the today items configuration and went back to the today screen. For a second or two i saw nothing but a white screen and i was like ‘see!’. But then it came up and as i clicked around and dragged things from the bar to the screens, i knew that the developer had gotten it right!

Low in memory consumption, offering a couple of widgets and with the option for multiple screens… this is again a must have for your windows mobile for yet another interface to show off. Though there aren’t any new widgets available but hopefully other developers will create some since the author of the interface also provides a developer guide. For more information, and to download, click on any image below.

FYI – works in landscape and switches fast. Also, does not require Flash!

I apologize for the completely unrelated post, but i just had to make a blog post about this and since this is pretty much the only blog i somewhat keep active, here goes… :)

Dollhouse is a Joss Whedon creation that is currently in its second season. It is most definitely one of the best series that i have watched but sad thing is that it might get cancelled due to its poor viewership. What Fox needs to acknowledge is that this is a masterpiece and no matter what the viewer count suggests, it offers one of the best stories and brings to question some really important questions. After all this being a Joss Whedon creation, it will take time for the series to get to the point expected of it – remember that all great stories have to be built. If you rush in, you could ruin it.

Below is a scene from Season 2’s episode 4 named Belonging which was the best aired episode of Dollhouse to-date. Standing in competition for top episode rank with this is Epitah One, an unaired season 1 episode that everyone should watch to get a complete understanding of what the series is really about, where it is headed, and why it should stay on TV.

P.S. I did put this clip on my X1 to watch it again and again… ;)

P.S.S. Be warned that the song is AWESOME! and you just might get addicted to it… Do note that the song itself hasn’t been released yet anywhere. (Sung by Jed Whedon)

After a long while I’ve finally found a ROM that i like in terms of performance and functionality, thanks to x1owner at XDA forums. This is by far the best Windows Mobile 6.5 custom ROM loaded with the latest HTC Sense based on the official ROM of HTC HD2 (Leo). HTC Sense works exceptionally (though no landscape) and takes up lower memory than most other ROMs I’ve tried in the past, and Windows Mobile itself is working flawlessly.

So with a working ROM that agreed with me, I thought I’d try out a few new things on my X1 and see how it holds up. Though below you’ll mostly find information on a couple of WAD2 themes, be noted that I will be making additional posts during the week on other applications and “games”. So keep a lookout.

Note: At the end of the post you will find two videos that I captured demonstrating everything in action. Please note that i tried to capture the video with my Canon Power Shot SX110IS (9.0 MP) camera but no matter what setting i tried, the display was blurry and too bright (even with the backlight on the set turned too low…) So for this one, i had to rely on my iPhone’s meager 2.0 MP camera for the video – thus the video and audio aren’t too great but not that bad either. When you watch the video, please accept my apologies for the unclear parts. If you have created videos in the past, i would love to know your thoughts on how to capture my screen best using the canon camera in the future. :)

PointUI Phone

One of the things that i tried out recently is PointUI’s Phone – a new dialer for Windows Mobile. PointUI Phone gives us a completely fresh and streamlined way to make calls and though it looks strange at first, once you get to know the dialer, you’ll end up loving it. Though I could not find a setting to specify it as the default dial-pad on startup, but once you launch the program it makes itself the default dialer unless you exit it out.

Point UI Phone provides;

Main Screen with Last Call, Missed Call, Time and Date information

Keypad with intelligent T9 capabilities

Calls screen with your recent activity

A fresh new take on Favourites Contacts

Contact details with easy access to required functions

Dynamic themes, Classic and Zun3 with more to come

Slide to Answer to prevent accidental acceptance of incoming calls

Watch the video to look at the dialer in action, and to download, click on the image below to be taken to the application’s website.

Wisbar Advance Desktop

I have never been much of a fan of Wisbar Advance Desktop but i understand now what the hype is all about. In my defense, the only times i tried Wisbar before, it hogged memory and performed too slow, but i now believe that to be a problem with the custom ROM i had been using at the time. Because WAD2 works exceptionally on the X1 as i have tested out and continuously use daily nowadays. For more information on WAD2, head on here.

One of the best things about having Windows Mobile is the level of customizations one can achieve with the phone. Themes on a Symbian OS or others is a completely different thing than what us Windows Mobile users have at our disposal. One second you could be running a completely professional interface and the next a cool looking entertainment interface. It is completely refreshing and gives you a completely new level of experience. (And is most definitely one of the best features of Windows Mobile)

So eventually, when i installed WAD2 on my X1, i went out in hunt of some good and usable WVGA themes. Here are three of my favorite themes themes that i have been using.

Windows 7

Windows 7 is taking over the market by storm. It is the best Windows to date… Period. And of course when i saw a theme for WAD2 based on Windows 7, i just had to try it out and here’s the verdict: the theme is simply amazing and gives a real Windows 7 look’n’feel to the X1. Though it may not be as friendly to use as most of the other themes, but it is definitely one to have on your device to show off at the next party. From the start menu to the battery indicator, most of the things are based on – that’s right – Windows 7 and they actually look cool in action. Though not as touch-friendly as others, take a look at the video for a quick demonstration of the theme in action. Note: Most of the windows such as the battery indicator, clock, or the start menu appear in positions specific to a VGA screen, so once you install, you will have to modify the layout to get everything to appear in the correct position. Also, the theme currently only supports WVGA in portrait mode – don’t worry though, when you switch to landscape, you can have an alternate theme in place ready to take over. (there is a VGA compatible landscape theme so hopefully we will see a landscape version of the WVGA theme soon as well)

For more information on the theme, click on the image below to be taken to the XDA forums thread.

Concept

Based on the original theme by Destri for the Omnia, dgen at Lakeridge forums created a WVGA compatible theme and it is the best themes i have used in a while. I don’t think that words can justify this beautiful theme which offer both performance and style. So check out the video at the end or click on the image below for more information on the theme and to download.

Natural

A minimal theme for WAD2 that grabbed my attention due to its simplicity and attractiveness. Though the theme’s main page does not have much to offer, that’s the whole point of having a simple theme, you are provided with an additional second page that you can place quick contacts and other shortcuts on easily using WAD2’s customizability features. Check out the video below for the theme in action or click on the image for more information and to download.

HTC Sense

And of course when you are using an HTC Leo ROM, you have to give HTC Sense a whirl. And in all honesty, it is extremely stable and fast in performance and provides a way better integration than previous versions of HTC’s offerings. I won’t go into detail about HTC Sense here but click on the image below to be redirected to TracyAndMatt’s blog where they’ve posted an unboxing video of HTC HD2 and are expected to post an in-depth HTC Sense videos soon.

I came across this thread in XDA developers about an application that is under development right now, an though the Alpha 0.3 release is nothing close to the final intended version, it is an exciting app.

is intended to be a lightweight, smooth and sweeeet style SMS & MMS application!

The application development has the following high priorities:

sending/receiving SMS (of course)

finger-friendly, sweeeet and attractive UI

multi-resolution

being lightweight and fast

Slide2-buttons (e.g. Slide2Send, Slide2Reply, Slide2NewMsg etc)

Below are a couple of mockups. For more information on the project, which by the way is open-source, head on to the XDA thread here. I hope that the guys wrap this up quick and put it on Windows Marketplace; this is one app i wouldn’t hesitate to purchase if it delivers what it promises…